A Comprehensive Framework for Hospital@Home Care Models

Abstract

Hospital@home is a healthcare approach, where patients receive active treatment from health professionals in their own home for conditions that would normally necessitate a hospital stay. Objective: To develop a framework of relevant features for describing hospital@home care models. Methods: The framework was developed based on a literature review and thematic analysis. We considered 42 papers describing hospital@home care approaches. Extracted features were grouped and aggregated in a framework. Results: The framework consists of nine dimensions: Persons involved, target patient population, service delivery, intended outcome, first point of contact, technology involved, quality, and data collection. The framework provides a comprehensive list of required roles, technologies and service types. Conclusion: The framework can act as a guide for researchers to develop new technologies or interventions to improve hospital@home, particularly in areas such as tele-health, wearable technology, and patient self-management tools. Healthcare providers can use the framework as a guide or blueprint for building or expanding upon their hospital@home services.